Hopper-bottom car.



R. R. WEAVER.

HOPPEB BOTTOM CAR.

APPLICATIQN man rE.1, 91s.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

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ROBERT n. WEAVER, or COLUMBUS, oHIo, AssIGNoR To THE EALs'ToNsT'EELcAE COMPANY, or coLUMBUs, onro. v

HOPPER-BOTTOM CAR.

Application led Februaiy 18, 1918. Serial No. 217,840.

.Ton/,ZZ whom z't may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT R. WEAVER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Columbus, in the county of Franklin and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hopper- `Bottom Cars; and I do hereby declare the `following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to improvements in hopper bottom cars and more particularly to the construction of the hopper body, the object of the invention being to so construct the floors of a hopper body as to eliminate the presence of flat faces except at the eXtreme upper ends of the same and to so construct said floors as to cause the material constituting the load to graviate toward the center thereof when being discharged, and thus cause the disintegration of massed portions of the load which with hopper bodies as heretofore constructed are liable to form wedges and thus seriously interfere with and prevent the proper discharging of the load.

With this and other objects in view, the invention consists in certain novel features of construction and combinations of parts as hereinafter set forth and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a hopper bottom car showing an embodiment of my invention: Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the same: Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view: Fig. 4 is a detached view of one end of the hopper; Figs. 5 and 6 are detail views; Fig. 7 is a detail view of the central ioor member, and Figs. 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 are transverse sectional views on Fig. 7.

1 represents the underframe of the car; 2 the hopper body provided with drop doors, and 3 the side stakes or posts secured to the side sills of the underframe and to the sides of the hopper body.

Each floor of the hopper body comprises three members 4, 4 and 5,-the member 5 being disposed between the members 4-4.

Each side member 4 of the hopper floor is composed of a sheet which is warped or bent from its upper, outer edge toward its lower corner, and its side ortion is further bent inwardly as indicate at 4, said sheet Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 21, 1919.

being thus so curved transversely as to tend to cause 'the load to graviate 'towar'dfthe center of the floor. The floor members 4 are riveted at their inner edges tothe edge portions of the central member andthe latter is made with stiffening flanges 5a. The central floor plate or member 5 is warped or bent in such manner that its face vshall be curved or inclined toward the longitudinal center of the member,-such curving or.

warping of the plate being from the lower corners approximately to the upper end thereof, the apex formed by such warping being located in line with the longitudinal center of the plate,-and thus aA central trough is formed which constitutesl the central portion of the trough-life floor. The lower end ofthe central member 5 presents edges 6-6 disposed at an obtusel angleto each other, the lower end of thefloor be-k ing approximately V-shaped inform.

The upper edges of the three floor lnaembers are in horizontal alinement ,with each other and provided with suitable flanges 7 8 for attachment of the top member 9 of the superstructure. The outer edges of the floor plates or members 4 are provided with flanges 10-11 for attachment of the sides 12 of the hopper. The lower edges of the several floor plates or members 4-4 and 5 are provided with depending flanges 13-13-14 which form the ends of the discharge outlet of the hopper. The drop doors have abutment against these lower flanges and for this reason said flanges may be sti'l'ened by reinforcing bars 15.

It will be understood that the two inclined floors of the hopper body are the same in construction and the structure of each is such as to cause the material constituting the load to tend to move toward the trough-like central portion of each of said inclined floors, and as the major portions of said floors have no flat surfaces, the tendency of the load to move toward the center while being discharged, will not be hindered, and the massing and clogging of the material will be avoided.

Slight changes might be made in the details of construction of my invention without departing from the spirit thereof or limiting its scope and hence I do not wish to restrict myself to the precise details herein set forth.

Having fully described my invention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An inclined Hoor for the hopper of a dumping car, comprising side portions and a central portion, each of said side portions being warped or bent from its upper outer edge toward its lower corner, and the central portion being bent from 'the lower corners approximately to the upper end there of, the apeX formed by such bending being located in line with Vthe longitudinal center of lsaid central portion of the floor. n 2; An 'inclined ioor for the hopper of a dumping car, comprising side portions and a central portiom each side portion being 'warped 'or bent from its upper outer edge 'toward its lower corner, each side portion heling.4 further bent inwardly and said inwardly bent portion being adapted for at- 'taclnet to a side 'of the hopper,V said central 4lportio'n of the floor being bent from lthe lower ycorners approximately to the igea-reo central portion approximately to the upper end thereof.

4. An inclined floor for the hopper of a dumping car comprising side sheets'and an interposed central sheet secured thereto, each of said side sheets being warped or bent from its upper outer edge toward its lower corner, and the` central sheet being bent from its lower corners approximately to its upper end, whereby said central sheet will form a trough gradually increasing in size approximately from the upper end of said central sheet to its lower end. l

5. lThe combination with the sides of the hopper body of a dumping car, 'of two inclined floors disposed between and secured to said sides, each of said floors comprising side sheets warped or bent from their upper outer edges toward the lower corners, an each central sheet being bent Storming a trough of gradually increasing size approximately from the upper end of' said central sheet to the loweroend thereof.

In testimony whereof, I have signed this specification in the presence of two suhscribiug Witnesses.

ROBERT R. WEAVER.

W'itnesses:

R. S. FERGUSON, Y S. E. NOTTINGHAM.

-gletffdf'tlti'r patent may kbe obtainedvor ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patente,

Washington, D. 1U. 

